ICH-themed writing contest winners announced in Shanghai

The award ceremony for the second intangible cultural heritage-themed writing contest, co-hosted by Prince Kung's Palace Museum and China Literature, took place at Shanghai Library East on Monday.

Top prize was awarded to Breaking Blade, a novel published online that integrates almost 100 elements of intangible cultural heritage from Shaanxi's folk traditions. Three silver prizes and six bronze also incorporate diverse heritage elements like velvet flower crafting and puppetry, allowing readers to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture through literature online.

Su Ning, deputy director of Prince Kung's Palace Museum, said the writing contest is a heartfelt tribute to Chinese intangible cultural heritage, and hoped that it encourages more people to protect and promote the heritage by exploring contemporary innovative means of expression. 

Xu Qiang, deputy director of Shanghai Library, highlighted the library's dedication to integrating traditional Chinese culture with digital reading through its vast collections and cultural deposit. 

Yang Chen, vice-president and editor-in-chief of China Literature, noted that the enthusiastic response to the contest demonstrated that "intangible heritage is not an isolated relic but a vibrant part of everyday life and memory for millions".

Since September 2022, the heritage inspired writing contest has attracted almost 100,000 submissions totaling more than 2 billion words. Hundreds of works have been recognized as outstanding literary creations, with many selected for the China Writers Association's key online literature projects and listed in the China online literature influence ranking.

The third edition of the contest was also launched at Monday's ceremony, while 24 award-winning works and research publications from Prince Kung's Palace Museum on Chinese cultural heritage were added to the Shanghai Library collection.

Following the ceremony, a seminar titled "Perceiving the Beauty of Life in Heritage-Related Creation" was held, featuring discussions by prominent web novelist Yue Guan (real name: Wei Lijun), Prince Kung's Palace Museum's associate researcher Chang Jie, China Literature's Content Operation Department manager Yang Zhan, and media personality Zhang Ying.